December 2016

Meredith Sawyer is an early childhood educator in Greensboro, North Carolina, who has been teaching for more than a decade. But as she reflects on the last seven years as a transitional kindergarten teacher in a childcare center that has the highest quality rating the state can offer — five stars — Sawyer realizes she’s grown tired of watching her peers meet life goals while she’s left unrewarded for her accomplishments and hard work. In a word? Sawyer is stuck. “I wait tables part time so I...

The human mind is one of the most complex structures in the universe. Even in early infancy, it is capable of taking in a wide variety of inputs. Still, in our early years, we’ve only unlocked a small portion of its potential. Our brains actually continue to develop into our twenties . Accordingly, the U.S. Government embraces a definition of youth that continues until we turn 25. Nurturing the development of young minds to stay healthy through adulthood is a primary goal of SAMHSA’s Project...